Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 01:39:12 +0000
From: Chained Soul
Subject: 'Angelic Damnation' chapter four
Disclaimer: First and foremost, this story is NOT true and is
not meant to imply anything about any of the celebrities mentioned.
Secondly, this story is similiar to the story 'Cosmic Companions'
written by Shell, Kat, Jackie, and Colleen. I love the story and recommend
that you read it, but 'Angelic Damnation' is not meant
to be a rip off of their story. To the authors of 'Cosmic Companions'
You rock! I love the story and am glad the bad guys got what they
had coming. But, I don't want to give away the story so I'll shut up.
Also, my story involves the Backstreet Boys and contains
consensual male/male sex. If you are not entertained by stories of
this nature, you've stumbled into the wrong site. Please leave now.
I know, I know. If you weren't interested, you wouldn't be here, but
I'm required to write that anyway.
Questions, comments, and flames can be sent to
Expression_of_Truth@hotmail.com
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This chapter is dedicated to COOLRIDER78~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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They never spoke again about where Aj had disappeared to that night. The
routine resumed for the guys. Another city, another practice, another
concert. Aj did his best, on stage and off, but at times, he still felt
pain. His sides and back hurt after he danced. He found himself stumbling at
times, his legs feeling as if they'd give out on him.
He had a bigger appetite than he'd ever had but made a point of watching
what he ate. He stayed off his feet, relaxing, whenever he could. He slept
as much as his schedule would allow. He did his best to take care of
himself. He knew it was important that he do so.
He'd decided not to tell the guys. 'Pregnant,' he thought. 'Howie'd have a
heart attack. Kevin wouldn't let me out of his sight. I hate to be treated
like a damn child. I can take care of myself. And Nick and Bri would be
fussing over me endlessly. Ok, so that could be funny to watch, but still.'
No. He wouldn't tell them. He didn't want to face them with such news just
yet. They were all still recovering from the shock of discovering his
alcoholism. He'd decided the very night Nick confronted him that he'd never
drink again. He'd promised.
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It had been two months now since his appointment with the doctor. Two
months since he'd learned he was to be a father. He was convinced that, had
it not been for his near constant exercise, he'd be showing physical signs
of his pregnancy.
With how much more he'd been eating lately, he felt he should have gained a
fair amount of weight. He knew his body and could well see the change that
had occured. But there was no way the others could have noticed. He'd only
gained a mere thirteen pounds. He knew he should weigh more. He'd read about
pregnancy on the internet. This was dangerous.
It was a Friday night and the guys had no prior obligations. They all
decided to meet up for dinner out. Kevin had made a reservation at a
resturant in the city. Given who they were, the guys had to be careful when
they went out or they'd find themselves surrounded by fans. Luckily, this
was a fairly quiet resturant.
They were led to a large table near the middle of the resturant. They were
sitting comfortably, looking over the menus, except for Aj.
"It's freezing in here. Aren't you guys cold?"
The guys all replied no and Nick handed Aj his jacket. "You can wear it,
man. I don't need it." "Thanks, Nick." Aj replied as he placed it over his
shoulders, using it more as a cover than a jacket. He'd started to dislike
the feel of cloth on his arms lately, though he couldn't explain why.
Once they'd all placed their orders, they sat talking quietly amongst
themselves. Nearly in unison, they all fell silent. Aj noticed they were all
looking at him. This annoyed him. He never did like to be studied like this.
"What?" he asked them.
"What's going on, Aj? You've changed." Kevin told him.
Aj's first response was to go on the defensive.
"Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"Calm down, man." Brian whispered, hoping to avoid causing a scene. Kevin
spoke again,
"Look, we know something's not right. So, don't lie about it. You're not
dancing anywhere near as well as you used to. Sure, during concerts, when it
really counts, you're great. But in practice, your steps sometimes faulter.
And by the middle of practice, you're exhausted. You used to be able to out
dance any of us. When we change backstage during concerts, you're always
winded. You sleep all the time. You've just been acting so strange recently,
Aje. We're worried. Now, I'll ask you once more; what's wrong?"
"You think I'm drinking again." Aj accused them.
"No." Nick responded. "But something's wrong."
"I'm fine." Just then, Aj felt as if his stomach was trying to turn itself
inside out. The pain was intense, but he stood quietly, dropping Nick's
jacket onto his chair, and walked toward the bathrooms. He made a point of
hiding the pain until he was away from the guys, safe in the bathroom.
He'd never felt so terrible in all his life. He threw up into one of the
toilets, not thinking to lock the door to the stall, leaving it open. He'd
never thrown up before during his pregnancy and hoped this incident did not
mark the beginning of a new problem.
Finally, he stopped gagging and relaxed, reaching up to flush the toilet.
He walked out into the main portion of the bathroom where the sinks were
located and ran some cold water over his hands before cupping them and
bringing some water to his mouth. Rinsing as much of the bitter taste out of
his mouth, he looked up into the mirror. Despite a slight red tinge to his
eyes and cheeks, he looked fine.
Nick stood there waiting as Aj walked out of the bathroom. "The guys were
here too." He said before Aj could speak. "They know you were sick. I told
them to wait at the table because people were staring. You need to let us
know what's going on, man." Aj sighed heavily and headed back toward the
table as Nick followed.
They took their seats again and the guys resumed staring at Aj, all waiting
for an explanation. When Aj didn't say anything, Kevin spoke up,
"You ready to tell us?" He was trying his best to be patient but of all the
things Kevin ever was, patient was not one of them. Aj shook his head 'no.'
He didn't want to talk about this right now. And Kevin lost his temper.
"Damn it, Aj! No secrets! We have to be able to trust each other!" A harsh
whisper. No need to cause a scene.
"Fine!" Aj replied in the same angry whisper. "Fine. You really want to
know?! I'm pregnant. Fucking pregnant! Happy now?" And he began sobbing. He
went to stand up to leave but he was suddenly weak. His legs couldn't hold
him. He started to fall but Howie was there in an instant and caught him.
When Aj had started to fall, it had snapped Howie out of his stunned
stillness and he quickly jumped up to catch him. Now, he stood with Aj,
shaking and sobbing, in his arms. The shock kept returning to him.
'Pregnant?' he thought. He knew what the word meant but it just didn't want
to register. Then it hit him with startling clarity and something occured to
him. He looked down at Aj, who was still too weak to stand. "Mine?" he asked
quietly.
Aj glared up at him, angry. "You really think I'd sleep around, D? You know
me better than that. Of course it's your's. I didn't make this baby on my
own." he could barely manage the whisper this was said in. He just wanted to
sleep. He felt terrible.
"Guys," Brian spoke up, "let's head back to the hotel. We need to talk
about this. There are too many people here." Nick, Kevin, and Brian hadn't
heard Aj's admission that the baby was Howie's. They had yet to learn of the
relationship Howie and Aj had tried so hard to hide.
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End chapter four.